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Monday, March 30, 2015

Spirit week has come and gone but what a week it was! Our theme this year was SEALS: Students Everyday Achieving Learning and Success. The dress up days are listed above,and we had a midweek pep rally in order to pump up the kids.

Our local high school came over with their band and cheerleaders, and our kids sat wide-eyed watching their every move. We also had some connections with the Navy and had a Lieut. General come and speak to our students!

On Thursday morning, the leadership team made breakfast for the whole staff including waffles and (turkey) sausage...attempting to save a calorie here and there:).

We can't control the testing but we can control our attitude! It was a great week and I'm thankful for camaraderie!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

For my friends who have been following this blog, you may remember my friend Annie , who had a brain aneurysm in August 2013 and survived! I am moved by this person on so many different levels, I want to share her story with anyone and everyone. She continues to see different specialists who help her with her language and vision. I had the chance to go to her therapies with her last week when visiting and she is progressing so well- each day is a new opportunity for her brain to soak up new information.

I know she has nothing to do with school counseling, but I feel compelled to share the perspective I walked away with and how I will be finishing out the school year and hopefully longer than that!

Seeing her re-learn how to read, how to tell time, how to see- puts life in perspective for me. She never complains and is thrilled to be alive each morning.Can you imagine if you lived even one day of your life with 100% optimism and excitement for every interaction you had!? I can honestly say I do not usually jump out of bed at 5:45AM each morning excited to: take a shower, brush my teeth, do bus duty, sit in meetings, email, do laundry, take the trash out, etc.

That being said- Annie's perspective each day is my new goal: To truly LIVE this LIFE and be thankful to wake up each morning and do the best job in the world- help people.

So readers- thank you for your commitment to what you do, to who you are, and to excitement in your life. I wish you a happy, healthy week and a new perspective on how great life is and how much we have to be thankful for. Sharing her story is so therapeutic for me and I appreciate your willingness to hear my heart.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Eight hours later and I am done! I am officially a facilitator for Darkness to Light child sexual abuse prevention program. If you have never heard of this program it is in all 50 states and going worldwide! The program is only two hours long but during that time you have the opportunity to hear from multiple sexual abuse victims as they come out and share their horrific stories of how these actions have changed them forever. You also have the opportunity to learn about five simple steps that you can take in order to prevent child sexual abuse. One of the great things about this program is that it is not geared towards only educators; it is designated for any adult who knows children and is willing to help. Now that I have received this training, I can facilitate the program to any adult who works with or knows children.

I urged those of you who have not heard of this program to check out this link and bring it to your place of work. It is so important to educate adults on the matter of child sexual abuse.The statistics are horrific and the stories are unbelievable:About one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This was startling to me, and it reinforced for me the need for a program like this.

D2L has partnered with YMCA, andthat is where our training was held.

If you live in Florida and would like the training, I would love to facilitate this program for you! If you are not geographically close to me, please check out the website and see what days and times the program is held and who could facilitate for you!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

February has come and gone- and I feel like each month moves faster than the last. In our district we have paraprofessionals that work with our students and staff. They are a huge asset to our school and without them, I don't think we could get through one day smoothly!
Long before I came to the current school I am now working at, Ms. Riley has been a paraprofessional- and EVERYONE knows Ms. Riley. She works at car loading, in the classrooms, in the cafeteria, and everywhere in between.

During the month of February, she dressed up and impersonated (truly and with passion! ) different people in history. Some of the obvious ones would include MLK, Aretha Franklin, and Rosa Parks. BUT keep in mind that there were 19 days in February... EACH DAY she impersonated a black man/woman in history and taught everyone something new to expand our ideas.

Some of my favorites included Duke Ellington ( yes, good ol' Duke with an electric keyboard under her arm all day, playing tunes for everyone and anyone who walked by) and Ella Fitzgerald. She sang her way through the hallways- telling everyone who she was. Of the 19 people she impersonated, I probably only knew five- she taught me a ton this month- and I am sure she showed the kids a different side of learning. One without books, movies, iPads, or iTunes. Learning can be done in SEEING and DOING- and that is exactly what she did...

Ms. Riley- you are one of a kind and we are lucky to have you- you're as crazy as can be and we wouldn't change ya for all the tea in China, or the all the money in the world- we love ya and thanks for teaching our kids something new:)